Entries in g-force Comp-2 A/S
(1)

“The everyday driver is an accidental performance driver.” It was one of those statements that sticks in your mind because it strikes a chord of truth. How often, if ever, do most drivers get a chance to push their vehicle hard enough to see what it will do, and do so in a controlled setting? Driver training is woefully inadequate, and we set teenagers loose on their own if they proved reasonably proficient in parallel parking, paid attention in situations far removed from what they will encounter in the real world, scored at least 50% on the written test, and could navigate everyday roads with an instructor sitting in the passenger seat. If, by the law of averages, this same teen progresses without any accidents, we consider them a good driver. Even worse, they consider themselves a good driver.

“Magnum P.I.’s Ferrari 308 had about 230 horsepower. Today, a Honda Accord V6 has more than 270.” Another nugget of truth. Cars have improved tremendously over the past 30 years. There are airbags to the front and side, an electronic safety net (ABS, traction control, electronic stability control, etc.), crush structures, survival cells, and more. Above a certain price point, nearly every car — and a lot of crossovers — have fully independent suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and are powered by an overhead cam engine with four valves per cylinder. This was the stuff reserved for high-end sports cars not so long ago, and it has trickled down to mainstream vehicles. Competition, the drive for greater powertrain efficiency, and the explosive growth in electronics have given us vehicles far more capable than we could have imagined when Tom Selleck was cruising Hawaii solving cases.